Tomorrow, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments regarding the legality of New York’s longstanding restrictions on firearms. There’s not a whole lot more we can add to the discussion, other than to reemphasize the potential gravity of the case. Or restate the fact that the high court even agreeing to hear the case indicates a willingness to (finally) revisit the Second Amendment questions they’ve assiduously avoided since the Heller decision in 2008.
Should the Supremes toss the law entirely, it will certainly change the landscape for firearms ownership across the country.
Should they take a limited position (the sincere hope of those who want more regulations on firearms ownership, not fewer), it may mean anti-gun jurisdictions like New York and the District of Columbia will simply change their verbiage, then wait for the next round of legal challenges to make its slow way through the appellate system.
In the meantime, the NSSF’s latest NICS numbers indicate the slowing trend in gun sales might finally be arriving. But it’s definitely not as slow as might be indicated by the percentage (19.3) decrease. Even with that drop, the adjusted-National Instant Criminal Background Check System numbers have 1,427,264 operations. That’s only a drop compared to 2020- and is still sufficient to make October 2021 the second-highest October on record.
Or as the NSSF’s Mark Oliva explains, “The annual total so far of nearly 15.2 million background checks is putting 2021 on the path to being the second strongest year on record. It is currently behind only the record shattering 21 million background checks witnessed in 2020 and the 15.7 million background checks conducted during 2016.”
“This continued and sustained pace of background checks for the sale of a firearm, that is climbing in the closing months of 2021, shows the resiliency of the firearm manufacturers to meet this sustained, high-level demand and the personal interest by the American public to participate in the exercise of their God-given Second Amendment rights.”
Can’t add much more to that.
Despite what you might be hearing in the media, there are ever-increasing numbers of first-time gun owners. And they are as diverse as the population of the country.
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam’s “vaccination or testing” mandate for state employees, contractors, interns and volunteers was supposedly designed to make things better- as in safer- for state employees.
Jury’s still out on how effective that’s been, but there’s apparently not much doubt that it’s taking an unexpectedly high toll on a critical part of the operation of the commonwealth’s government: volunteer workers.
According to a story by Ken Perrotte appearing in last Thursday’s Free Lance-Star, the mandate may result in the loss of up to half or more of the volunteers in the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources’ Hunter Education Program.
According to Perrotte, a November 19 email to program participants by the VDWR’s human resource director told them: “If you are not fully vaccinated, we will not be able to utilize you for future events, until Executive Directive Number Eighteen (2021) expires or you become fully vaccinated.”
For many of the volunteers, it appears that simply is not an option. And the agency’s hands appear to be tied.
The impact is already being felt as some classes are either drastically short of volunteer instructors or have been cancelled entirely.
To worsen matters, the mandate calls for weekly testing for unvaccinated personnel. Testing for volunteers, according to the DWF, is either “unavailable” or “cost prohibitive” for the numbers of volunteers involved.
Oddly enough, as Perrotte’s work points out, the rules for state contractors seem far more flexible than agency volunteers. While volunteers are required to either be “vaccinated or tested,” contractors are only “required to wear a mask, maintain social distancing, and adhere to all other agency safety protocols while working on-site or engaged in-person with the public.”
Finally, just when you thought the NRA couldn’t run into more problems, their computer network has apparently been hacked.
Last week, we confirmed that the organization’s computer network was, indeed, down -and had been for more than a week. NRA staffers were working the NASGW show, but without the benefit of their calendars, contact lists and other network support.
We’re told those services are down until “the hacking threat has been eradicated.” But the troops continue to soldier on.
We’ll keep you posted.
— Jim Shepherd